Postcard: Crab and Shadow

 Hello.

We're back.

Maybe not consistently.  Life changes.  We don't have the chances for travel we used to, and the little girl who started it all grew up and became a Marine and moved far away and got married.

But there are the little boys.  Who aren't little any more, really--they're both taller than me now and about to go on the adventure of high school.  But they wanted to make postcards for our upcoming vacation, so we did...and I thought maybe it was time to put some that we've received up here.

This one returned to us in 2021, when we were still kind of pandemicky feeling, though mail doesn't worry us.  I wish I were more organized and got all of them up here when they arrived, so that the person who sent each one back would have a better chance of seeing it.  Paul, the rescuer of Crab and Shadow, has probably forgotten this page exists, which is a shame, because he wrote us a very cool note on the back.  Here's the card:

Here's what Paul had to say:

Well, I won't be crabby about this, but this nifty, artistic card only traveled a few miles prior to being sadly stuffed in a mailbox in cosmopolitan Seal Rock, OR.  I work as a volunteer reshelving books in the Waldport, OR library and discovered the card nestled in the pages of Eric Carle's "Book of Many Things."  Touching, because he died a few days after I "rescued" it two years after it started its journey.  USPS will complete its appointed round in a few days.  It was fun having it around before its return journey ^so far from the sea.  A well crafted card and a fun experience.  

Paul, another library fan

We love Paul's note and we really hope something brings him here again so he can see that the card did return to us!

Postcard: Shapes, Stripes, Path

We have a backlog of postcards that have been returned.  I believe I've mentioned once or twice that I was hesitant to start a blog.  This is why!  But I'm committing to getting them all up here.  So--here we go!

This postcard came back to us from Park City in 2018, the same year it was left behind in the Park City library. 

 It was discovered by the Stone Family, who wrote:

Hi! We traveled from Long Island, NY to the coast of CA, picked up this postcard in Park City, UT, drove through MO, stayed at Myrtle Beach & then moved into our new home in Central NY.  This was all from May 3 to Aug 10, 2018.  We drove the entire way & camped most of it.  Our family of 6 (5 humans and 1 dog) saw so much of this beautiful and enormous country.  
Stone Family

It sounds like this postcard had an amazing trip!  Thanks to the Stone Family for finding it, letting it join them on their travels, and returning it to us!

Postcard: Peacock

Postcards are still out there.  

We've had two returned recently, both from Park City, from a trip we took in the summer of 2018.  

The girl's grown up on me, and gotten married, and my husband experiences severe anxiety now in connection with travel.  So we may not be "losing" many postcards, even when the pandemic is under control.  But I have quite a few that never made it to this blog, because (if you remember) I wasn't ready to commit to a blog in the first place.  The girl set it up.  She always did tend to get ahead of things, from the day she was born (my first pregnancy that actually ended by the due date). 

I miss her beautiful face and her crazy bold confidence.

So--here's a peacock.  It's Jesse's artwork again, and came back from Park City this week.

The finder's name is Kaiya, and I LOVE that she drew us her own little bird, with a crown on its head.  It's right there above the address.  Thank you, Kaiya!

 

Postcard: Grapes

So many reasons I haven't kept up.  

First... you may have noticed the global pandemic. Suddenly my boys are home all the time,  and I'm the teachers aide. They get bored because they can't hang with their friends,  and I'm the Activities Director. Plus,  no travel,  so no new libraries.

But thanks to Nathan, who is six years old (which is the age the Marine was when we started this game), this came back today.  Our vacation to Park City seems like a lifetime ago! 

Thank you, Nathan, for returning this to us!

Postcard: Sea Lions

These sea lions were Jonno's creation, and when we let them go, he really hoped they would come back!

From the finder:
Postcard was found in novel named "DG the Doppleganger Chronicles:  The First Escape" by G. P. Tayor, my name is [first, initial, surname], I don't like my middle name, but it's a good initial in my full name."

Thanks for returning the postcard!

Now, of course, we are super curious about that middle name! But as a Mom, I feel like I should remind everyone to be really careful about the information you share with strangers.  I made sure the name didn't appear on this blog, and it's best not to give your full name out on the Internet.  It's safest to use a nickname online.

Postcard: Vellichor

From January 2016 to February 2019!  This came back today, a rainy day midweek, and it was a cheerful thing to see in the mail.  It was handed to me along with a bouquet of red roses for Valentine's Day, though the roses came from my well-loved companion husband and the postcard from a library worker in Coeur d'Alene.

The sender writes:

I had to look up the word "vellichor"--and I work in a library!  Is there a word for "the strange wistfulness of libraries?"

If you didn't know--and I certainly didn't before I tripped over this wondrous old word on the internet--vellichor refers to the strange wistfulness of used books or used bookstores.  It's tempting to think it might also apply to libraries, which also are full of used books.   I find that the feeling in a used bookshop is different than the feeling in a library, even though both are filled with used books. What do you suppose makes the difference?

Postcard: Lines and curves

 This one came back from Park City today--but it sounds like it went on quite an adventure!

The finder writes:

Hi! We traveled from Long Island, NY to the coast of CA, picked up this postcard in park City, UT, drove through MO, stayed at Myrtle Beach, and then moved into our new home in central NY.  This was all from May 3 to Aug 10, 2018.  We drove the entire way & camped most of it.  Our family of 6 (5 humans and 1 dog) saw so much of this beautiful & enormous country.
Stone Family

Dear Stone family--That sounds like a great experience!  Our family left the postcard in Park City while on vacation this past summer.  Anyone who stops into a library while on vacation is our kind of people!  We have been campers for decades (our eldest human is now 29) but we as parents are getting kind of old and it's getting harder.  I worked for a vacation rental company for several years, and so we have been able to stay in comfortable surroundings at a deep discount.  Sadly, I only have one more summer for that, as my work for that company has ended.  Happily, we found a little camp trailer early this year that has a bed I can actually sleep on.

We are 8, though four of us have grown up and gone off to seek their own fortunes, bringing three more into our family, but leaving just the twins and their aging parents at home.  And the dog. Also a gecko, two fish, two goats, two steers, and some chickens.

Thanks for returning our postcard!